HISTORY OF HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Transcription

1 HISTORY OF HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA Mrs Dagmar Muhlbauer Chief Flight Paramedic Netcare 911 Mr Raveen Naidoo Dr Timothy Hardcastle

2 The day it all began. Started operations in 1976 Sponsored by Lions International Based at the then JG Strydom Hospital Main focus IHTs for cardiothoracic unit

3 Early days.. In 1977, the Transvaal Provincial Administration and Republic Helicopters took over the service. Service moved to Johannesburg General Hospital. Used a Long Ranger

4 Early days. Crew consisted of nursing staff from the surgical ICU at the Johannesburg General Hospital.

5 Early days.. On the 2 July 1978, a critically injured rally driver was airlifted from Swaziland to the new helipad at Johannesburg General Hospital.

6 Flight for Life

7 Early days.. The Long Ranger was involved in a power line strike in in 1986 during a search & rescue mission.

8 Early days.. A BK 117 helicopter leased through National Airways Corporation replaced the Long Ranger in 1986.

9 Early days.. This helicopter was mainly used for IHTs however it also started to service primary callouts.

10 Early days.. Almost 10 years later.als paramedics were added to the HEMS crew.

11 Flight for Life Towards the end of 1992 a government tender was opened for the provision of a HEMS operation And as a result of this, in 1993 a public-private partnership was formed between the Transvaal Provincial Administration and Europ Assistance.

12 Flight for Life Two Long Rangers were leased through Court Helicopters.

13 Flight for Life One these was based at the Johannesburg General Hospital and the other at HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria. Started as a daylight service

14 Flight for Life In 1995, the service became a 24 hour operation from the JHB base making use of a BO105 helicopter.

15 Flight for Life This was the first fully fledged 24 hour service in SA and it responded to IHTs and primaries.

16 Flight for Life One of the Long Rangers was moved to Virginia Airport in KwaZulu Natal. In 1998, the service was downgraded to a daylight only service as the Provincial Government withdrew any form of financial contribution.

17 Flight for Life

18 Flight for Life In 1999, a private charter company (Star Air Ambulance Services) took over the management of the service. They provided a 24 hour service without any government subsidy. Without the government funding, the service underwent an extensive overhaul to become a Section 21 Non-Profit Organization known as STAR.

19 Operating alongside Flight for Life.. In 1990, a company called Medical Rescue International (MRI) leased their first helicopter.

20 MRI The helicopter was placed alongside the Flight for Life helicopter at the Johannesburg General Hospital.

21 MRI In 1991, the helicopter was moved to a helipad at the Garden City Clinic and at times it was also based at the Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria. By 1995, MRI had 4 HEMS operations in total with the assistance of National Airways Corporation. They were based in Johannesburg, Harrismith, Durban and Cape Town.

22 MRI A number of flying hours each month were sponsored by MRI to fly indigent patients.

23 MRI The administration & billing was done by MRI and the collecting of funds were not efficient. Medical aids questioned the need for a helicopter transfer and often repudiated claims. All 4 helicopters were taken out of service in 2000.

24 STAR STAR took over from Flight for Life in October They continued to work closely with Flight for Life along with other partnerships including the Provincial Government to get the operation in JHB up and running as a 24 hour operation again.

25 STAR The vision of STAR was to provide a HEMS operation to ALL South African citizens. Your Life Our Priority STAR relied on sponsorships and donations.

26 STAR In 2004, STAR achieved Section 18A status which assisted with fundraising capabilities allowing STAR to receive donations and apply for lottery funding.

27 STAR In 2005, STAR was recognized by EURAMI as a world class service.

28 STAR STAR opened bases across the country

29 STAR Gauteng base: First made use of a BO105 which was later changed to an EC135 Based at Johannesburg General Hospital 24 hour operation (only one in SA at that time

30 STAR

31 STAR Tshwane base: Long Ranger helicopter Based at Unitas Hospital Daylight operation Later made use of a Squirrel helicopter

32 STAR

33 STAR Polokwane base: BO105 helicopter Based at the fire station at the Polokwane Civil Air Field Daylight operation

34 STAR

35 STAR KwaZulu Natal base: EC120 helicopter Based at Virginia Airport Daylight operation EC120 was damaged during a training incident and written off Replaced with Long Ranger from Tshwane

36 STAR

37 STAR Cape Town operation: BO105 helicopter Based at Base 4, Cape Town International Airprt Daylight operation Partnered with RCAMS for a while

38 STAR STAR

39 STAR STAR received zero state subsidy as they were only reimbursed for missions undertaken on the state s behalf. Relied on corporate sponsors.

40 STAR The first of one of these sponsors was Liberty Life.

41 STAR Another one of the corporate sponsors was Cell C

42 STAR STAR utilized set dispatch guidelines, however, these guidelines were often used by the funder to decline payment.

43 STAR The crew consisted of a pilot, doctor and ALS paramedic. At that time, STAR was one out of eighteen services worldwide to crew with both a doctor and paramedic.

44 STAR HEMS crew were mostly volunteers Had to comply with strict entry criteria to fly and there was a long waiting list Received an honorarium to cover basic on-duty expenses

45 STAR

46 STAR STAR was seen as a neutral and independent service allowing access to both private and public EMS crews.

47 STAR >76% of patients flown were indigent Serviced between missions/month Received proudly South African status in 2004 QA committee met weekly to review flights All crew attended M&Ms twice a month

48 STAR Specialised Trauma Air Response changed to Specialised Trauma Air Rescue later on.

49 STAR STAR ceased operations in 2006 due to lack of funding after many attempts to restructure the business model.

50 Helivac Originated in 2008 as a subscription based helicopter emergency membership Main focus was to eliminate medical insurance authorisation Time saves lives, Helivac saves both

51 Helivac In 2009, Helivac aeromedical service was launched. Operated a Squirrel from Grand Central Airport in Midrand.

52 Helivac Funded by monthly subscription fees. Aim was to minimise helicopter activation times by negating the pre-authorisation process.

53 Helivac Helivac aeromedical services ceased operations in 2010 due to the expenses associated with having a dedicated helicopter. Reverted back to the original operation making use of service providers.

54 Currently.. In South Africa currently, there are 3 HEMS operators: 1) Red Cross Air Mercy Services 2) ER24 3) Netcare 911

55 RCAMS Launched their first HEMS operation in the Western Cape in 2000 using a BO105 Based at Base 4 at Cape Town International Airport Non-profit organisation

56 RCAMS Daylight operations Crewed with a pilot and two medical crew which may be made up of a doctor, ALS or ILS paramedic

57 RCAMS In 2005, a RCAMS BO105 was involved in a fatal accident whilst en-route to a clinic in George. All crew and patient were killed. First fatal HEMS incident in South Africa.

58 RCAMS Currently have bases in the following areas: Western Cape Oudtshoorn Durban Richards Bay Nelspruit Polokwane Bloemfontein

59 ER24 Operate two dedicated HEMS machines Commenced operations in 2010 with the first helicopter based at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg

60 ER24 The second helicopter is based at Base 4 at Cape Town International Airport

61 ER24 Operate in daylight hours Crewed by two ALS paramedics and a pilot

62 Netcare 911 Commenced operations in 2005 Took over the 24 hour HEMS operation in Gauteng after the closure of STAR Based at the Johannesburg General Hospital

63 Netcare 911 Helicopter was crewed with one pilot during the day and two pilots during night operations Medical crew consisted of a doctor and ALS paramedic

64 Netcare 911 Moved to Grand Central Airport in Used the EC 135 for night operations and a Squirrel for daylight operations Later changed to a BO105

65 Netcare 911 Second base was opened at Virginia Airport in KwaZulu Natal in 2006 Daylight only Used a Squirrel but now uses a BO105

66 Netcare 911 In 2008, a base was opened in the Eastern Cape Only operated during daylight hours Closed in 2010

67 Netcare 911 In 2011, Netcare 4 was launched and operates out of JHB Service level agreement between Netcare 911 and Anglo American

68 With thanks to Lynn Botha Liz Ferguson Patrick Wallett Warren Hastings JP Van Tonder Gary Berkowitz Sean Groome Eleanor Geldard Paul Germishuizen Tom Watson Rhett Davies Nick Botoulas Shaughun Jackson Peter Brink Bruna Dessena Ian Fourie Derek Jones David Dennison Richard Mulder Anchen Laubscher